Pre-paid phone card system with promotional link

ABSTRACT

A method for providing telephone service and cooperatively promoting the sale of telephone usage services by a telephone service provider and the sale of goods and/or services such as lottery tickets associated with a lottery game by a lottery service provider. A phone card in accordance with the invention has a substrate such as paper, paperboard or plastic, a personal identification number (PIN) which can be covered by a removable opaque coating and machine readable indicia such as a bar code or magnetic strip used to activate the telephone card in a secure fashion and/or link the phone card to a lottery game such as a state run Pick 4, Pick 6, instant win game or the like. Users purchase the pre-paid phone card for a fixed fee which entitles the user to a set amount of long distance phone service and a promotional lottery ticket. The phone card is activated and a lottery ticket is issued at a lottery agent terminal. In the case of Pick 4 and Pick 6 games, the lottery number is selected via currently available methods such as user selection or a machine generated quick pick.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This is a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.08/941,678, filed Sep. 30, 1997.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to methods and apparatus for the secureactivation of a pre-paid telephone card and cooperative marketing oftelephone usage authorization and other goods and/or services such aslottery services. Disposable telephone cards (phone cards) carryingpre-paid usage authorization credits and a personal identificationnumber (PIN) for making telephone calls from public, business orresidential telephones, are securely activated and/or related to theissuance and validation of lottery chances, especially for statesponsored lotteries that are operated independently of the phone system.The invention provides a method for secure activation of a pre-paidtelephone card, cooperative promotion of telephone services by atelephone service provider as well as promoting sale of goods and/orservices such as promotional lottery tickets associated with a lotterygame or a credit towards the purchase of a lottery ticket associatedwith a lottery game by a lottery service provider.

The telephone card has a personal identification number (PIN) and an IDCode (i.e., machine readable and/or human readable indicia) both ofwhich can be covered by a removable opaque coating. In a preferredembodiment the ID Code is a numeric or alpha numeric code imprinted onthe surface of the telephone card. In another embodiment the ID Code isimprinted as a machine readable data carrying indicia such as a bar codeor magnetic strip. The ID Code is used to initially activate the phonecard and/or link the phone card to goods and/or services includinglottery tickets for a lottery game such as a state run Pick-4, Pick-6,instant win ticket or similar games. Users purchase the pre-paid phonecard for a fixed fee which entitles the user to a set amount of phoneservice (e.g., long distance calling time) and a promotional lotteryticket or at least a credit towards the purchase of a lottery ticketassociated with a lottery game (a discount in the price of the lotteryticket). The promotional lottery ticket is printed or generated in asecure fashion via lottery agent terminals that normally operateindependently for issuing and validating tickets via communications witha lottery computer system. The phone card is also activated using the IDCode in a secure fashion via the lottery agent terminals viacommunications with a telephone service provider.

2. Prior Art

Pre-paid telephone cards are currently available as a means to carrycredits to place and concurrently pay for telephone calls from public,business or residential telephones. In general, a pre-paid phone cardhas a substrate such as paper, paperboard or plastic imprinted withindicia such as a pre-printed personal identification number (PIN) whichcan be covered by a removable opaque coating. A pre-paid phone card userpurchases the phone card either directly or indirectly from a telephoneservice provider for a fixed amount of money such as $10.00. Thetelephone service provider maintains a central computer system whichcorrelates the pre-printed PIN and the cash value or a fixed time usagevalue associated with the phone card and monitors usage of the card. Asthe phone card is used, the remaining value of the phone card isautomatically debited by the central computer and/or by adjusting arepresentation of value on the card, until the cash value associatedwith the card is exhausted. In the alternative the phone card can beissued for a fixed number of minutes of long distance service, which arelikewise debited as the card is used. The telephone service provider whoissues the card in turn accounts for long distance service charges bymaking payments to long distance telephone companies such as AT&T, MCIand SPRINT in providing telephone service to the user. The particularlong distance telephone carrier used normally is not relevant and is notdisclosed to the user.

Usually, the card issuing telephone service provider maintains a tollfree number and associated telephone equipment such as a private branchexchange (PBX) which is serviced or answered by an automated telephoneanswering system in data communication with a central computer. Thepre-paid phone card is imprinted with the toll free number andinstructions for users to follow in order to place calls in associationwith the phone card. Users are generally instructed to call the tollfree number to initiate a call. The automated telephone answering systemanswers calls to the toll free number, provides audio instructions tothe user prompting the user for telephone keypad input (touch tones)representing the PIN and the telephone number they wish to reach (calledparty number). The automated telephone answering system and/or centralcomputer verify the PIN and the current cash or time value associatedwith the phone card, and assuming the card is valid and has a sufficientcash or time value, automatically dials the called party number therebyplacing the telephone call for the user.

Telephone cards as described can be issued directly by the telephoneservice provider, or the provider can contract for its cards to beissued by others. Sales promotions, for example, can involve theprinting of phone cards bearing trademarks of a product supplier to begiven away to customers. Employers can obtain phone cards for the use ofemployees, etc.

In some cases, the user must first initialize an account prior to firstusing the phone card. Users are generally instructed to first call thetoll free number in order to provide a user selected personalidentification number (User PIN) to be uniquely associated with thephone card. The automated telephone answering system answers calls tothe toll free number, provides audio instructions to the user andreceives telephone key pad input from the user for entry of the UserPIN. The automated telephone answering system and/or central computersystem utilizes the User PIN and the pre-printed PIN to verifysubsequent secure usage of the phone card prior to placement of a call.

A particular problem with current pre-paid phone cards is that the cardsare either activated at the time of printing. That is, the cards areimprinted with all necessary information for initialization of anaccount. Therefore, pre-paid phone cards consistent with the prior artmust be treated with the same security as cash, postage stamps, bearerbonds or the like. If newly printed cards are lost or stolen, they canbe used by anyone who possesses them. Thus, the account initializationprocess set out above essentially protects against use of a previouslyinitialized phone card and/or re-activation of an old phone card, asopposed to secure activation of new cards.

For lottery systems, various types of gaming forms are used. Thestructure of the gaming form depends on the type of lottery gameassociated with the form. Instant win games having "scratch off"coatings over game indicia are commonly available. The most commonscratch off gaming form substrate is a lamination of paper stock andmetallic foil or opaque paper so that the substrate is secure againstcandling or the like that might reveal game indicia. The game indicia iscovered with an opaque or pigmented soft latex over a varnish releaselayer. The coating is removable by scratching with a coin or fingernail. By removing an opaque scratch off coating, concealed gameinformation is revealed, or by removing a pigmented clear layer,selected game information can be marked, in each case to determinewhether or not the game form is a winner.

Pre-paid phone cards are known with an associated scratch off instantwin type of game printed on the phone card substrate. Such pre-paidphone cards may have a substrate carrying an identification number andmay have indicia covered by a removable opaque coating for playing aninstant win type of game. For example, the instant win game could be ascratch off game in which the user removes the opaque coating revealingsix dollar prize amounts. A match of three identical dollar amounts is awinning ticket valued at the dollar amount. Such games are issued by thephone card issuer where regulations permit, and prizes are paid out bythe phone card issuer. Due to regulations against gambling, a win insuch a game may be limited, for example, to payment in kind (i.e.,additional phone services) or to payment by delivery of a product.Additional sometimes onerous regulations apply in many jurisdictions.

Instant win games are limited in scope and prize value, and represent asmaller market share of total lottery ticket sales as compared to highersecurity games in which chances are issued via communications with acentral lottery computer and the issue of a validated ticket that can bedocumented later if the ticket is presented as a winner. It would beadvantageous to improve the methods and apparatus that allow a pre-paidtelephone card to include a promotional game such that a moresubstantial gaming aspect can be included. According to the presentinvention, a phone card is used as a linking means permitting the cardholder to enter a government-regulated state run lottery contest.

It would normally not be practical to issue telephone cards withassociated lottery tickets applicable to a lottery game operatedindependently of the phone service provider, such as the Pick 4, Pick 6or instant win game of a state sponsored lottery. A primary difficultyinvolves the manner in which the user or player selects lottery playentry numbers. Lottery service providers are hesitant to participate inselection of player entry numbers or winning lottery numbers, forsecurity reasons, although assistance in play selections usingrandomized computer algorithms may be available on many lottery computersystems that dispense entries via agent terminal systems. Pre-printedphone cards having associated lottery tickets or player entry numberswould require the selection of lottery numbers in advance, and couldexpose the operation to potential breaches of security. This fact favorslimiting promotions to small prizes (as with scratch off games) andreduces the potential extent of promotions.

It would be advantageous to provide a method for cooperatively promotingthe sale of telephone usage services by a telephone service provider andgoods and/or services such as a lottery ticket or a credit towards thepurchase of a lottery ticket associated with a lottery game by a lotteryservice provider, that is secure and does not require assignment ofplayer entry numbers in advance. It would also be advantageous toprovide a method for secure activation of pre-paid telephone cards sothat pre-printed cards cannot be activated if they are lost or stolen.It would also be desirable to utilize the existing infrastructure ofstate sponsored lotteries such as their agent terminals and centrallottery computer systems for activation and tracking of functions,verification of lottery ticket issuance and redemption of lotterywinnings subject to the security and regulation that makes largelotteries possible. Such a system would promote player interest and theprovision of both phone and lottery system usage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide a pre-paid telephone card(phone card) which can only be activated in a secure fashion so thatlost or stolen cards cannot be used.

It is an object of the invention to provide a pre-paid telephone cardwhich is linked to goods and/or services offer as part of a promotion.

It is an object of the invention to provide a pre-paid telephone cardwhich is linked to a lottery game, and especially to provide convenientand secure means for entry into an independently operated statesponsored lottery game.

It is an object of the invention to provide a pre-paid telephone usagecard system with cards having an identification code which can beassociated with initial activation of the card.

It is an object of the invention to provide a pre-paid telephone usagecard system with cards having an identification code which can beassociated with the provision of goods and/or services as part of apromotion.

It is an object of the invention to provide a pre-paid telephone usagecard system with cards having human readable or machine readable indiciasuch as a bar code or magnetic strip which can be associated with aseparate lottery game ticket generated from an agent terminal of alottery network independent of the issuer of the telephone cards.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a pre-paidtelephone card having human readable or machine readable indicia such asa bar code or magnetic strip which can be activated via a separate orpre-existing lottery agent terminal provided by a lottery serviceprovider.

It is another object of the invention to provide a pre-paid telephonecard having human readable or machine readable indicia such as a barcode or magnetic strip which can be read by a separate or pre-existinglottery agent terminal for generation, printing, activation and/orverification of a lottery ticket.

It is another object of the invention to provide a pre-paid telephonecard system for use in conjunction with a separate or pre-existinglottery game system wherein the pre-paid telephone card has humanreadable or machine readable indicia such as a bar code or magneticstrip which is generated in conjunction with an identification code thatis provided or assigned by the lottery service provider.

It is another object of the invention to provide a pre-paid telephonecard system for use in conjunction with a separate or pre-existinglottery game system wherein the separate or pre-existing lottery gamesystem reads the machine readable indicia; and generates a lotteryticket entry in an lottery game that is independent of the telephonecard issuer or a credit towards the purchase of a lottery ticket, onlyif the human readable or machine readable indicia matches theidentification code known to the lottery service provider.

It is another object of the invention to provide a pre-paid telephonecard system for use in conjunction with a separate or pre-existinglottery game system wherein a separate or pre-existing lottery systemagent terminal is operable to generate a lottery ticket having thelottery number if the human readable or machine readable indicia matchesthe identification code wherein the lottery number is provided by theuser.

It is generally an object of the invention to provide a method secureactivation and for cooperatively promoting the sale of telephone usageservices by a telephone service provider and goods and/or services suchas lottery tickets associated with a lottery game by a lottery serviceprovider.

These and other objects are accomplished by a pre-paid telephone cardand pre-paid telephone card system for use in conjunction with telephoneusage service and a lottery game system for providing lottery servicesuch as ticket generation, tracking functions, verification andredemption of winnings. A pre-paid telephone card in accordance with theinvention has a substrate such as paper, paperboard or plastic, anidentification number or PIN which optionally is covered by a removableopaque coating and machine readable indicia such as a bar code, magneticstrip or other data carrying medium, used to link the phone card to anindependent lottery game such as a state sponsored Pick 6 or the like.Users purchase the pre-paid phone card for a fixed fee which entitlesthe user to a set amount of long distance phone service and at least onepromotional lottery ticket. Long distance telephone service as definedherein includes traditional land based telephone service and wireless(e.g., cellular) telephone service the like.

The human readable or machine readable indicia is used to encode anidentification code which identifies the phone card as one which isentitled to a promotional lottery ticket or at least a credit towardsthe purchase of a lottery ticket (a discount in the price of the lotteryticket) and/or allows the lottery system to recognize when the user'sright to a lottery ticket or discount has been exhausted. Theidentification code provides a means for securely linking a separate orpre-existing lottery game to a pre-paid telephone card without the needfor actually preselecting or otherwise communicating a lottery numberfor pre-printing on the phone card. The promotional lottery ticket isissued at a separate or pre-existing lottery agent terminal under secureand regulated conditions. The user's lottery number is selected viacurrently available methods such as user selection or a machinegenerated quick pick.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

There are shown in the drawings certain exemplary embodiments of theinvention as presently preferred. It should be understood that theinvention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed as examples, andis capable of variation within the scope of the appended claims. In thedrawings,

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a pre-paid telephone card (phonecard) and associated bar code indica with a PIN number covered by aremovable opaque coating in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of a pre-paid phone in accordancewith FIG. 1 showing the PIN number after removal of the removable opaquecoating in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of the front of a pre-paid phonecard with a PIN number covered by a removable opaque coating inaccordance with the invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of the back of the pre-paid phonein accordance with FIG. 3 showing a magnetic strip in accordance withthe invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of the front of a pre-paid phonecard with a PIN number and an ID CODE covered by a removable opaquecoating in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of a pre-paid phone in accordancewith FIG. 5 showing the PIN number and ID CODE after removal of theremovable opaque coating in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a lottery game system and pre-paidtelephone card system in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a pre-paid activation network inaccordance with the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A pre-paid telephone card (phone card) 10 in accordance with theinvention is shown in FIG. 1. The phone card has a substrate 12 formedfrom paper stock, paperboard, plastic or the like. The phone card ispreferably the size of a typical credit card (approximately 5.4 cm×8.6cm) for convenient storage in a purse or wallet. The phone card has atleast a portion of the substrate which is suitable for graphics 14 orthe like, shown as a rectangular area in FIGS. 1-3. The phone card canbe larger, or smaller than a conventional credit card. For example, alarger phone card can provide an increased area for graphics or thelike; smaller phone cards can be sized for storage on a key chain or thelike. The phone card is imprinted with a personal identification number(PIN) 16 which is shown in covered by a removable opaque coating 18 andmachine readable indicia 20.

FIG. 2 shows a phone card with the opaque coating 18 removed revealingthe PIN number 16 which is preferably uniquely associated with a singlephone card. For security purposes it is desirable to select a PIN numberhaving at least 10 digits, providing several billion possible codecombinations. For cases in which large numbers of phone cards areproduced, the PIN number is advantageously produced in a randomizedfashion to provide maximum security. In the alternative, the PIN numbercan be produced in a serialized fashion starting with a base number andincrementing the PIN number to be imprinted on subsequent phone cards.

The machine readable indicia 20 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is standard barcode symbology. There are several different bar code symbologies incommon usage today such as UPC, UPC/EAN-Code 128, Code 39, Interleaved 2of 5 and Codabar. UPC bar code is typically used to identify productsfor point of sale retail applications such as grocery and retail stores.UPC bar code consists of 4 parts; the 1st number is the systemidentifier; next 5 digits are the manufacturers assigned number; next 5digits are the manufacturer's own assigned product number and the lastdigit is the check digit. The manufacturer's assigned number generallyissued from the Uniform Code Council in the USA or in Canada, theProduct Code Council of Canada. UPC/EAN- Code 128 symbology is generallyused in a standard format for identifying products on shippingcontainers. Code 39 or Code 3 of 9 is the most common symbology for barcodes used in general purpose bar code systems. Code 39 as well as Code128 are both alpha/numeric and are very flexible. Interleaved 2 of 5 barcode symbology supports numbers only and has five bars, two of which arewide. In this code both the bars and spaces carry information. See AIMX5-1 USS I 2/5 for specifications. Codabar is typically used bylibraries however some libraries have converted to Code 39 symbology.

In the present embodiment, the machine readable indicia is preferably abar code 22 in Interleaved 2 of 5 format and has an associated checknumber 24 used to verify the validity of the bar code. The bar code ismachine readable and correlates to an number preferably uniquelyassociated with a single phone card (machine readable indicia code). Forcases in which large numbers of phone cards are produced, the bar codecan be produced in a randomized fashion to provide maximum security. Inthe alternative, the bar code can be produced in a serialized fashionstarting with a base number and incrementing the bar code to beimprinted on subsequent phone cards. Other embodiments can alternativelyuse Code 39 format bar codes for identification codes with alpha/numericcharacters (i.e., alphabetic letter, number or both).

FIG. 3 shows an alternative embodiment in which the phone card 30 hasmachine readable indicia 20 in the form of a magnetic strip 32 encodedon the rear surface of the card 34 (FIG. 4). Magnetic strips are incommon usage today and are most frequently associated with the bankingindustry for use on credit cards, debit cards and the like. At least twodata encoding standards exist regarding magnetic strip technology asapproved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and theInternational Standards Organization (ISO), namely ANSI/ISO BCD DataFormat and ANSI/ISO BCD ALPHA Data Format. The BCD Data format generallyuses five bits per character, 4 bits are used for a 16 character setBinary Coded Decimal (BCD) having a value of 0 to 15 (0-F Hexadecimal)the last bit is used as a parity bit. The BCD ALPHA format generallyuses seven bits per character, 6 bits are used for a 64 character setincluding fill alpha numerics and several special characters (such as !,", #, $, %, & and the like). Data on a typical magnetic strip is encodedfrom left to right and is divided into three separate longitudinaltracks extending the length of the magnetic strip. Each individual trackis located in a relatively precise position within the magnetic strip.Each of the tracks also has a specific data format which is generallyused to encode information such as account numbers, expiration dates,encrypted PIN numbers and the like. Magnetic strips for use with theinvention need only encode a unique "random" or "serial" number for eachindividual phone card. Thus, both magnetic strips encoded in ANSI/ISOBCD Data Format and ANSI/ISO BCD ALPHA Data Format are compatible withthe invention. As above, for cases in which large numbers of phone cardsare produced, the magnetic strip is advantageously encoded with a uniquenumber in a randomized fashion to provide maximum security. In thealternative, the magnetic strip can be encoded in a serialized fashionstarting with a base number and incrementing the number to be encoded onsubsequent phone cards.

Other machine readable indicia are possible, such as other forms ofoptical encoding such as bullseye "bar" codes, two dimensional barcodes, magnetic encoding techniques other than magnetic strips, radiofrequency encoding and on-board nonvolatile data memory.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show a phone card 40 which is similar to the phone cardshown in FIGS. 1 and 2 respectively however, human readable indicia 42is used in place of machine readable indicia. The PIN number 44 andhuman readable indicia 42 as shown in FIG. 5 is covered by an opaquecoatings 46 and 48 respectively. FIG. 6 shows the phone card with opaquecoatings 46 and 48 removed revealing the PIN number 44 and humanreadable indicia 42 which are preferably uniquely associated with asingle phone card.

FIG. 7 shows a block diagram of a lottery game system and pre-paidtelephone card system in accordance with the invention. Users purchase apre-paid phone card 50 in accordance with the invention for a fixed feewhich entitles the user to a set amount of long distance phone serviceand, in a preferred embodiment, a promotional lottery ticket. Longdistance phone service as defined herein includes, but is not limitedto, traditional land-based long distance telephone service and wireless(e.g., cellular) telephone service the like.

The lottery game system, provided by the lottery service provider 52,generally includes a lottery central computer 54 in data communicationwith a plurality of agent terminals 56 for general administration of aseparate or pre-existing lottery game (i.e., not associated with thetelephone service provider). The agent terminals are used activate thephone card, and in a preferred embodiment, issue and manage lotterytickets. In so doing, the agent terminal accepts operator input,communicates with a central computer for activation of the phone card,entering a player entry and receiving verification from the centralcomputer that the entry is accepted, printing lottery tickets thattypically bear the player selections, and communicating with the centralcomputer to validate previously issued lottery tickets as winners or todetermine their status. In the case of a state run lottery game such asthe Pick 4 game, for example, users purchase tickets having a lotterynumber consisting of 4 digits. For security purposes, the winningnumbers are selected by an independent entity having no relation to thelottery service provider, such as the state lottery agency contractingfor lottery computer services. A winning ticket matches all four digitsin the exact order as the winning number. In some cases, lower prizesare available from matching three digits in the correct order. Userscompare their lottery number with the winning number and then validateand redeem tickets with the winning combination at an agent terminal.Other games such as a Pick 6 are played similarly, and other forms ofgames are also applicable such as keno games, bingo games and othervariations.

The pre-paid telephone card system 58 generally includes a telephonecard central computer 60 and associated telephone equipment. Thetelephone card central computer is generally operable to track a cashvalue and to verify a PIN number, both associated with a pre-paidtelephone card. The associated telephone equipment generally includestelephone hardware such as a private branch exchange (PBX) 62 coupled tomultiple central office phone lines (not shown) which are serviced oranswered by an automated telephone answering system typically called avoice response system 64, the PBX and the automated telephone answeringsystem being in data communication with the telephone card centralcomputer.

A pre-paid phone card user purchases the phone card 50 either directlyor indirectly from a telephone service provider for a fixed amount ofmoney such as $10.00. The user is then entitled to $10.00 worth of longdistance telephone service and, in a preferred embodiment, a promotionallottery ticket for a separate or pre-existing lottery game. Thetelephone card central computer system correlates the PIN and the cashvalue associated with the phone card and tracks telephone usage of thecard. As the charges associated with usage of the phone card accrues,the cash value of the phone card is automatically debited by the centralcomputer until all of the cash value associated with the card isexhausted. The telephone service provider also attends to payment of anylong distance service provided by a long distance telephone serviceprovider such as AT&T, MCI and SPRINT for any long distance telephoneusage associated with the phone card.

In a preferred embodiment, the telephone service provider maintains atoll free number which is serviced by the automated telephone answeringsystem. The pre-paid phone card is also imprinted with the toll freenumber and user instructions on how to place calls in association withthe phone card. Users are generally instructed to call the toll freenumber in order to initiate a call. The automated telephone answeringsystem answers calls to the toll free number, provides audioinstructions to the user which prompts the user for telephone keypadinput (touch tones) representing the PIN and the telephone number theywish to reach (called party number). The automated telephone answeringsystem and/or central computer verifies the PIN and the current cashvalue associated with the phone card, and assuming the card is valid andhas a sufficient cash value, automatically dials the called party numberthereby placing the telephone call for the user.

To cooperatively promote the sale of telephone usage services by thetelephone service provider and the sale of lottery tickets associatedwith a lottery game by the lottery service provider the inventionprovides a secure way in which the telephone service provider andlottery service provider are at least partially linked in a securemanner. Unlike an ordinary phone card, the phone card in accordance withthe invention is imprinted with specialized human readable or machinereadable indicia. In the case of bar code machine readable indicia, theidentification code is preferably a base alpha/numeric character to beimprinted on the first phone card. In the case of machine readableindicia, the identification code is also preferably a base alpha/numericcharacter to be encoded on the first phone card. Preferably eachsubsequent phone cards are imprinted and/or encoded with an incrementedvalue alpha/numeric character in serialized fashion. The machinereadable or human readable indicia is used as a secure link between thelottery service provide and the telephone service provider andidentifies the phone card as one entitled to a promotional lotteryticket.

As shown in FIG. 7, the lottery service provider communicates anidentification code 66 to the telephone service provider. Phone cardsare subsequently printed or produced by the telephone service providerand/or an independent third party with machine readable or humanreadable indicia 68 corresponding to the identification code 66. Theidentification code is not a lottery number, nor can a lottery number bederived from the identification code. The identification code is used toidentify a phone card which is entitled to activation and, in apreferred embodiment, a promotional lottery ticket in order to promotethe sale of telephone usage service and lottery tickets. Thus, theidentification code provides a means for securely linking a pre-paidtelephone card to promotional goods and/or services. In the presentembodiment the pre-paid telephone card is linked to a separate orpre-existing lottery game to a pre-paid telephone card without the needfor actually communicating a lottery number.

In some case the lottery service provider receives payment from thetelephone service provider for the promotional lottery ticketsassociated with the pre-paid telephone cards. In this sense the lotteryticket is not free rather it is a promotional ticket provided at nocharge from the user's perspective. In one embodiment, the lotteryservice provider receives a lump sum payment in return for anidentification code and authorization for a fixed number of serializedphone cards. In another embodiment, the lottery service providerreceives a payment for each lottery ticket actually generated or printedat an agent terminal. In this case, the lottery service provider mustcommunicate to the telephone service provider that a lottery ticket hasbeen printed. The telephone service provider then arranges for paymentfor the lottery tickets printed over a fixed period.

In a preferred embodiment, the phone card is automatically activatedupon presentation to the lottery agent terminal 56. The lottery agentterminal is operable to read the human or machine readable indicia andcompare the indicia to the identification code. The lottery serviceprovider then generates an activation signal 70 for signifying that thepre-paid phone card is activated if the human or machine readableindicia corresponds to the identification code 66. The activation signalis preferably an electronic signal communicated from the lottery serviceprovider to the telephone service provider using a standard modem andtelephone line link (not shown). The activation signal identifies themachine readable indicia code which is uniquely associated with a singlephone card. Upon receipt of the activation signal, the telephone cardcentral computer correlates the machine readable indicia code in orderto log that the phone card is activated. The telephone service providercan also log the number of cards activated over a fixed period andsubsequently arrange for payment of the lottery tickets printed to thelottery service provider.

FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of a pre-paid activation network inaccordance with the invention. The pre-paid activation network is usedto automatically activate the phone card upon presentation to a lotteryagent terminal (not shown) in a secure fashion. In a preferredembodiment, activation via the lottery agent terminal is required priorto using the phone card. An associated promotional lottery ticket or thelike may or may not be provided. However, the pre-printed phone cardswould not become functional until activated via the lottery agentterminal.

The lottery service provider maintains a lottery central computer 54 indata communication with a plurality of agent terminals (not shown) forgeneral administration of one or more lottery games. FIG. 8 shows a twocentral computer system, a main computer--Central Computer--1, and aredundant backup computer--Central Computer 2. Upon presentation of anew pre-paid phone card to a lottery agent terminal (not shown), thelottery agent terminal is operable to read the human or machine readableindicia from the phone card and transmit this information to the lotterycentral computer. The lottery central computer then compares the indiciato the identification code and generates an activation signal only ifthe indica corresponds to the identification code.

The activation signal is communicated electronically to the telephoneservice provider. FIG. 8 shows an example of a TCP/IP (TransmissionControl Protocol/Internet Protocol) network in accordance with theinvention. TCP/IP is the basic communication language or protocol of theInternet. It can also be used as a communications protocol between twoor more private networks.

The activation signal is communicated from the Lottery Service Providerportion of the network, from the main computer (Central Computer--1)through firewall-1 and Router-1 to the Telephone Service Providerportion of the network. In general, a firewall is a set of relatedprograms that protects the resources of a private network from usersfrom other networks. Basically, a firewall filters all networkinformation to determine whether to forward the information toward itsdestination. A router is a device or, in some cases, software in acomputer, that determines the next network point to which a given pieceof information (i.e., packet) should be forwarded toward its finaldestination.

The activation signal is received via telephone service providerRouter-1 and is transferred to Host-1. The term "host" generally means adevice or program that provides services to some smaller or less capabledevice or program. In this case the host accesses the debit database viathe hub. Generally, the word "hub" means a convergence place where datacomes in from one or more directions and is forwarded out in one or moreother directions. The debit database is also in communication with thetelephone service provider central computer (not shown) and is used tocorrelate the PIN number and the cash value or a fixed time usage valueassociated with the phone card and to monitor usage of the phone card.In general, each phone card is assigned at least one record in the debitdatabase. The record contains data representing phone card usage,associated PIN number and activation status. Upon receipt of theactivation signal, the host accesses the debit database and updates therecord in the debit database to reflect that a given phone card isactivated. This allows a user to begin use of the pre-paid phone cardcorrelated with the given PIN number.

Upon activation, the Host-2 sends an ACK (acknowledge) signal to thelottery service provider to signal that activation is complete andacknowledged. In one embodiment, receipt of the ACK signal signifiesthat the lottery service provider is authorized to provide promotionalgoods and/or services (such as a promotional lottery ticket) inassociation with activation of the phone card. The ACK signal isreturned to the phone card service provider via telephone serviceprovider router-2, lottery service provider routers 2 and 3, firewalls 2and 3. The ACK signal is returned to both the main computer (CentralComputer-1) and the redundant backup computer (Central Computer 2).

The lottery central computer(s), firewalls and routers as well as thetelephone service provider hosts and routers are all assigned a uniquenetwork number that forms its unique Internet Protocol (IP) address. Inthis case, the pre-paid activation network is generally designated by anIP address in the form of 123.123.X.X. The term IP address is generallyrefers to a 32-bit number that identifies each sender or receiver ofinformation on the network. When information is requested or sent, theInternet Protocol part of TCP/IP includes the requestor's (sender's) IPaddress in the message (actually, in each of the packets if more thanone is required). At the other end, the recipient can retrieve therequested information and return it to requestor's IP address .

The IP address is usually expressed as four decimal numbers, eachrepresenting eight bits, separated by periods. This is sometimes knownas the dot address and, more technically, as dotted quad notation. ForClass A IP addresses, the numbers would represent"network.local.local.local"; for a Class B IP address, they wouldrepresent "network.network.local.local"; for a Class C IP address, theywould represent "network.network.network.local". This number version ofthe IP address can (and usually is) represented by a name or series ofnames called the domain name.

In this case, the pre-paid activation network uses a Class B IP addresswith the network portion of the IP address being 123.123. The localportion of the IP address is unique for each individual device (forexample a server (123.123.2.1), a firewall (123.123.3.1), a router(123.123.4.1), host (123.123.5.1), workstation etc. etc.) within thatnetwork.

The pre-paid activation network is also assigned a subnet mask (SubMask) designated as 255.255.255.0. A subnet (short for "subnetwork") isan identifiably separate part of an organization's network. Typically, asubnet may represent all the machines at one geographic location, in onebuilding, or on the same local area network (LAN). Having anorganization's network divided into subnets allows it to be connected tothe Internet with a single shared network address. Without subnets, anorganization could get multiple connections to the Internet, one foreach of its physically separate subnetworks, but this would require anunnecessary use of the limited number of network numbers the Internethas to assign. It would also require that Internet routing tables ongateways outside the organization would need to know about and have tomanage routing that could and should be handled within an organization.

The pre-paid activation network as shown in FIG. 8 provides a secure wayof activating the phone cards using the existing lottery agent terminalnetwork. The invention as disclosed is advantageous in that only minormodification of the existing lottery service provider computer system isrequired to form a secure pre-paid activation network. It is understoodthat activation can be accomplished in other ways, including but notlimited to, a fully manually initiated voice telephone connection(between the lottery and telephone service providers) or by a simpledata connection between the lottery and telephone service providers.Such a data connection includes dial up access, remote terminalconnections via modem or the like.

In another embodiment users are also required to provide a user selectedpersonal identification number (User PIN) to be uniquely associated withthe phone card upon initially calling the toll free number. In thiscase, the user places an initial call to the toll free number. Theautomated telephone answering system answers the call, provides audioinstructions to the user and receives telephone key pad input from theuser for entry of the User PIN. The automated telephone answering systemand/or central computer system then utilizes the User PIN and thepre-printed PIN to verify secure usage of the phone card prior toplacement of a call.

The invention as disclosed is advantageous in that the ordinaryselection of lottery numbers in pre-existing lottery games isunaffected. Users are able to select lottery numbers for separate orpre-existing lottery games in conformance with established practices. Insome cases, users select their own lottery numbers at the lottery agentterminal, in other cases the lottery agent terminal generates a randomlottery number for the user called a quick pick. Regardless of how thelottery number is selected, the invention eliminates the need topre-select and/or communicate lottery numbers outside of establishedchannels currently in use in the lottery industry.

The invention as described above discloses the use of a personalidentification number (PIN), and identification code referenced tomachine readable and/or human readable indicia in association with theprovision of phone service, activation of the phone card and provisionof a promotional good or service. It is understood that the PIN numberand indicia referenced to the identification code can be a singleindicia. It is also understood that additional indicia can be includedon the telephone card for increased security. For example, indiciacorrelated to particular card lots, vendors, geographic areas, dates andthe like.

In the forgoing embodiments, the telephone service provider verifieswhether the indicia associated with the pre-paid telephone card isreferenced to the identification code. It is also understood that thetelephone service provider (goods and services provider) canalternatively or additionally verify that the indicia associated withthe pre-paid telephone card is referenced to the identification codeprior to activation of the telephone card or provision of telephoneservices.

The invention as disclosed above is ideally suited to linking a pre-paidtelephone card with a pre-existing lottery game. However, the inventionis also useful for linking a pre-paid telephone card with the provisionof goods and/or services as part of a promotion. The PIN number isgenerally used for verification and tracking of telephone service usage.The machine readable or human readable indicia is generally used forverification and tracking of associated goods and/or services providedas part of a promotion. The printing capabilities of the lottery agentterminal are used to generate a coupon or voucher associated with theprovision of goods and/or services (i.e., a coupon for credit towardsthe purchase price of the goods or services or a voucher for theprovision of the goods or services). The coupon or voucher provides atleast a credit towards the purchase of the goods or services (a discountin the price of the goods or services). In a preferred embodiment thetelephone services and promotional goods and/or services are provided byseparate business entities. However, the invention is suitable forlinking telephone services and associated promotional goods and/orservices provided by a single business entity.

The invention having been disclosed in connection with the foregoingvariations and examples, additional variations will now be apparent topersons skilled in the art. The invention is not intended to be limitedto the variations specifically mentioned, and accordingly referenceshould be made to the appended claims rather than the foregoingdiscussion of preferred examples, to assess the scope of the inventionin which exclusive rights are claimed.

I claim:
 1. A method for providing telephone servicescomprising:communicating an identification code from a lottery serviceprovider to a telephone service provider; generating an indiciacorresponding to the identification code; providing a pre-paid telephonecard with an associated PIN number and the indicia corresponding to theidentification code; the lottery service provider, upon presentation ofthe pre-paid telephone card, verifying that the indicia associated withthe pre-paid telephone card is referenced to the identification code andgenerating an activation signal for signifying that the pre-paid phonecard is activated if the indicia associated with the pre-paid telephonecard corresponds to the identification code; the telephone serviceprovider receiving the activation signal from the lottery serviceprovider and providing telephone services in conjunction with thepre-paid telephone card only upon receipt of the activation signal andverification of the validity of the PIN number associated with thepre-paid telephone card.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the telephoneservice provider, upon receiving the activation signal from the lotteryservice provider, generates an acknowledge signal, the lottery serviceprovider receiving the acknowledge signal and providing a lottery ticketin conjunction with the pre-paid telephone card.
 3. The method of claim1 wherein the indicia is machine readable.
 4. The method of claim 3comprising:the lottery service provider providing a lottery centralcomputer in data communication with at least one agent terminal forgenerating and validating lottery tickets and for reading the machinereadable indicia associated with the pre-paid telephone card; thelottery service provider reading the machine readable indicia on thepre-paid telephone card using the agent terminal; and the lotteryservice provider providing at least one of credit towards the purchaseof a lottery ticket and a lottery ticket for the lottery game using theagent terminal only if the machine readable indicia associated with thepre-paid telephone card corresponds to the identification code.
 5. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the pre-paid telephone card has an associatedusage value representing a cash value of long distance serviceavailable.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein the pre-paid telephone cardhas an associated usage value representing a time value of long distanceservice available.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein the indicia is amachine readable bar code.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein the indiciais a machine readable magnetic strip.
 9. The method of claim 1comprising:the telephone service provider providing telephone serviceequipment and a telephone card central computer operable to monitorusage of the pre-paid telephone card, store and adjust a usage valueassociated with the pre-paid telephone card and to verify a PIN numberassociated with the pre-paid telephone card; the telephone serviceprovider receiving and verifying the validity of the PIN numberassociated with the pre-paid telephone card using the telephone serviceequipment and telephone card central computer; the telephone serviceprovider providing telephone service, monitoring the usage of thepre-paid telephone card and adjusting the usage value associated withthe pre-paid telephone card based on usage of the pre-paid telephonecard if the PIN number is valid.
 10. The method of claim 9 wherein theusage value is a cash value representing the amount of long distanceservice available.
 11. The method of claim 9 wherein the usage value isa time value representing the time of long distance service available.12. The method of claim 1 wherein the telephone service provider and thelottery service provider are a single business entity.
 13. A pre-paidtelephone card system for use in conjunction with a separate lotterygame system comprising:a pre-paid telephone card system havingassociated telephone hardware and a telephone card central computeroperable to provide telephone service, track a usage value and to verifya PIN number, both associated with the pre-paid telephone card; alottery game system having a lottery central computer and a plurality ofassociated agent terminals for generating and validating lottery ticketsand for reading machine readable indicia representing an identificationcode associated with the pre-paid telephone card; a pre-paid telephonecard having a pre-printed PIN number and machine readable indiciacorresponding to the identification code; wherein the pre-paid telephonecard system is operable to provide telephone service using the pre-paidtelephone card system if the PIN number is valid, the pre-paid telephonecard system being able to track usage of the pre-paid telephone card andto adjust the usage value associated with the pre-paid telephone cardbased on usage; and, wherein the lottery game system is operable togenerate a lottery ticket for the separate lottery game if the machinereadable indicia matches the identification code.
 14. The system ofclaim 13 wherein the machine readable indicia is a bar code.
 15. Thesystem of claim 13 wherein the machine readable indicia a magneticstrip.
 16. The system of claim 13 comprising:the lottery game systemhaving a means for generating an output for signalling that the pre-paidphone card is activated using the lottery game system if the machinereadable indicia matches the identification code; means forcommunicating the output for signalling that the pre-paid phone card isactivated, the pre-paid telephone card system having a means forreceiving the output for signalling that the pre-paid phone card isactivated; wherein the pre-paid telephone card system is operable toprovide telephone service only if the output for signalling that thepre-paid telephone card is activated has been received.
 17. A method forcooperatively promoting the sale of telephone usage services by atelephone service provider and goods or services by a goods and servicesprovider comprising:communicating an identification code from the goodsand services provider to the telephone service provider for use inassociation with a pre-paid telephone card; generating an indiciacorresponding to the identification code; providing the pre-paidtelephone card with an associated PIN number and the indiciacorresponding to the identification code; the telephone service providerverifying the validity of the PIN number associated with the pre-paidtelephone card and providing telephone services in conjunction with thepre-paid telephone card only if the PIN number is valid; and, the goodsand services provider, upon presentation of the pre-paid telephone card,verifying that the indicia associated with the pre-paid telephone cardis referenced to the identification code and in that event providing atleast one of promotional goods and services provided the indiciaassociated with the pre-paid telephone card corresponds to theidentification code.
 18. The method of claim 17 wherein the indicia ismachine readable.
 19. The method of claim 17 wherein the usage value isa cash value representing the amount of long distance service available.20. The method of claim 17 wherein the usage value is a time valuerepresenting the time of long distance service available.
 21. The methodof claim 17 wherein the indicia is a machine readable bar code.
 22. Themethod of claim 17 wherein the indicia is a machine readable magneticstrip.
 23. The method of claim 17 comprising:the goods and servicesprovider generating an activation signal for signifying that thepre-paid phone card is activated if the indicia associated with thepre-paid telephone card corresponds to the identification code; thetelephone service provider receiving the activation signal from thegoods and services provider and providing telephone services inconjunction with the pre-paid telephone card only upon receipt of theactivation signal.
 24. The method of claim 1 comprising:the telephoneservice provider providing telephone service equipment and a telephonecard central computer operable to monitor usage of the pre-paidtelephone card, store and adjust a usage value associated with thepre-paid telephone card and to verify a PIN number associated with thepre-paid telephone card; the telephone service provider receiving andverifying the validity of the PIN number associated with the pre-paidtelephone card using the telephone service equipment and telephone cardcentral computer; the telephone service provider providing telephoneservice, monitoring the usage of the pre-paid telephone card andadjusting the usage value associated with the pre-paid telephone cardbased on usage of the pre-paid telephone card if the PIN number isvalid.
 25. The method of claim 24 wherein the pre-paid telephone cardhas an associated usage value representing a cash value of long distanceservice available.
 26. The method of claim 24 wherein the pre-paidtelephone card has an associated usage value representing a time of longdistance service available.
 27. The method of claim 17 wherein thetelephone service provider and the goods and services provider are asingle business entity.
 28. The method of claim 1 wherein the PIN numberand an indicia referenced to the identification code are a singleindicia.
 29. The method of claim 1 wherein the PIN number and an indiciareferenced to the identification code are a single indicia.
 30. Themethod of claim 13 wherein the PIN number and an indicia referenced tothe identification code are a single indicia.
 31. The method of claim 17wherein the PIN number and an indicia referenced to the identificationcode are a single indicia.
 32. The method of claim 1 wherein thetelephone service provider provides wireless telephone services inconjunction with the pre-paid telephone card.
 33. The method of claim 13wherein the telephone service provider provides wireless telephoneservices in conjunction with the pre-paid telephone card.
 34. The methodof claim 17 wherein the telephone service provider provides wirelesstelephone services in conjunction with the pre-paid telephone card. 35.The method of claim 1 wherein the telephone service provider, uponreceiving the activation signal from the lottery service provider,generates an acknowledge signal, the lottery service provider receivingthe acknowledge signal and providing a coupon for credit towards theprovision of at least one of goods and services.
 36. The method of claim1 wherein the telephone service provider, upon receiving the activationsignal from the lottery service provider, generates an acknowledgesignal, the lottery service provider receiving the acknowledge signaland providing a voucher for provision of at least one of goods andservices.